Millennials from 160 Countries Connect at the Global Shapers Annual Meeting in Geneva

Di Dai, Communications Officer, Public Affairs, World Economic Forum, Tel.: +41 (0) 22 869 1405; email: di.dai@weforum.org

• 450 young leaders between the ages of 20 and 30 convened in Geneva
• Representatives from 450 cities discussed global challenges and how millennials can contribute to addressing them during the four day learning journey.
• The Global Shapers Community is a network of city-based hubs of young people working together to make a difference in their communities
• For more information, visit www.globalshapers.org

Geneva, Switzerland 19 August 2015 – The World Economic Forum hosted the Annual Curators Meeting 2015 for Global Shapers at the Forum headquarters in Geneva. This gathering of more than 450 Global Shapers was designed to ensure that the voice of millennials is included in the debate on how to address a range of global challenges, including youth unemployment, climate change, the future of the internet and gender parity.

The Global Shapers, aged between 20 and 30, presented the projects run in their local communities and held a series of workshops on their impact and sustainability. The meeting offered an opportunity for feedback and advice on these projects by a global community of peers as well as Forum experts. Global Shapers also participated in a range of activities, such as maintaining the lakeshore, catering for destitute people, and working in the host city of Geneva, and with local communities, to make a positive impact.

There are currently more than 5,000 Global Shapers in over 169 countries and territories worldwide. This community presented hundreds of project, some of examples include:

• Powering Education, led by Rome (Italy) and Nairobi (Kenya) Global Shapers. The project uses the power of data to tackle energy poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. In a bid to deliver innovative solutions to local stakeholders, it has distributed more than 800 solar lamps to 60 schools, and brought lights to 5,000 people in rural and off-grid communities.

• Kabaddiwala Connect, led by Global Shapers from Chennai (India). The project uses the circuits of India’s existing informal waste economy by connecting communities with more than 500 local scrap dealers. Over 1,146 tons of paper, 418 tons of plastic, 2,205 tons of metal and 920,000 bottles of waste have been recycled so far.

• Bordofarms, led by Global Shapers from Tijuana (Mexico). The project is designed to support thousands of deportees on the Tijuana River by creating job opportunities through crop production on a sustainable urban farm.

Young people are greatly under-represented in global affairs, even though they make up 50% of the world’s population. As innovators, digital natives and those most impacted by today’s policy decisions, they deserve a seat at the table. The Global Shapers embody the “community of the future”, bringing together young people in a diverse, decentralized and digitally hyperconnected way. The Global Shapers Community is an initiative of the World Economic Forum and is independent, neutral, non-political and not for profit.

Notes to Editors

For more information about the Global Shapers Community, visit www.globalshapers.org and our videos on who we are http://youtu.be/VvcUDDxr7Ic, what we do http://youtu.be/m8r9bqpSTuI and our vision http://youtu.be/shaAiy2S3fk
Follow the Global Shapers on Twitter at @globalshapers
Official hashtag of the Annual Curators Meeting 2015: #ShapersACM
Become a fan of the Global Shapers on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GlobalShapers
Become a Global Shaper at http://www.globalshapers.org/apply